Month: November 2011

A A friend sent me the above card the other day – in the mail, you know, the old fashioned way. I love getting cards in the mail. It’s so infrequent any more. Anyway, the card had me laughing for hours. Every time I looked at it I started laughing all over again. I simply couldn’t get enough. I even carried the card around with me and set it on the kitchen windowsill so I could look at it while I was doing dishes, and in the laundry room when I was folding and ironing clothes. I’d just glance over and start laughing. I’ve got you wondering, don’t I? It’s a great card, but it’s one of those you have to be a little older to appreciate. It says, “The older we get…the less concerned we are with appearances.” On the cover is an elderly man, I’d say mid-eighties, mowing his lawn on what appears to be a lovely day. His wife is sitting in a lawn chair sipping tea and enjoying being outside in the warm fresh air. I’d say she is the same age as he is. The hilarious thing about this couple, I don’t know if…

This is the time of year to head over Stevens Pass and spend a day in Leavenworth. The drive is extraordinary, autumn on display like diamonds in a jewelers window. The river winds around the highway, or maybe it’s the other way around, white water in places, stillness in others, salmon easy to spot. When my husband and I make the drive it takes us forever to arrive at our destination. We have to pull over continuously to take it all in. It’s impossible to appreciate the magnificence flying by at fifty miles an hour. Colors of fire cover the mountains, rushing water, towering evergreens, traces of snow, all wrapped up in a days drive. And the air is as fresh as a new baby. Upon arriving, Leavenworth is striking. The Bavarian Village transports visitors into a whole new world. Mountains encircle and tower over a village filled with the constant whir of activities and celebrations. I can hardly wait to get out of the car and begin to explore. There are a few favorite places I can’t wait to visit; the hat shop being one of them. It has more hats piled into one little store than sardines…

It’s beautiful this time of year. The changing colors of the leaves, the wind whistling through the forest and the house, and the temperature dropping into the wool sweater zone. Everything changes so drastically in the fall, so obviously and so impossible to ignore. And there is nothing we can do to stop it. It makes me think about life in general and about relationships. Things change. Our bodies get older, our experiences hopefully make us wiser, and people weave in and out of our lives. Are you ever amazed by the way people change? There are those I’ve known for years yet discover through a turn of events, I’ve never really known them at all. And then there are those who’s lives change so drastically we no longer have a common bond and sure enough, the time comes when you realize you have drifted apart. I guess that’s why family is so important. We need to know there are those in our lives that won’t fade away, won’t change so much we hardly recognize them, and won’t forget us. Siblings are so important – who else do we know from the get go? Who else do we share those…

While the majority of society forges ahead, myself and a handful of others gingerly test the waters. We have an aversion to technology yet we are aware we must surround ourselves with all kinds of technology in order to stay out of the department of dinosaurs. I know people who are there. They refuse to own a computer or a cell phone or anything else modern and awesome. I might be afraid of the tech-y stuff, but I’m blown away by it and constantly try to wrap my brain around it whenever I can. I admit I almost always need someone to hold my hand as I venture out, as though I were taking a walk on the moon. When no one is looking, I experiment on my own. Sometimes I’m actually successful, and then other times…well, you know. So, I’m proud to announce the picture above was taken from my very own digital camera and I posted it on this blog without anyone else in the room. I know…most of you have been doing this since you were born. But I haven’t’ and it’s a big deal to me! I’m going to be taking my camera everywhere…